Performance Preview

Eight Years of Revolution

Tricklock Company presents the Eighth Annual Revolutions International Theatre Festival

By Amy Dalness

The marathon we theater junkies have been waiting for is here. The Eighth Annual Revolutions International Theatre Festival kicked off Wednesday, Jan. 16, with a titillating performance by The Wau Wau Sisters, and there's much more to come. Running until Feb. 3, Revolutions features theater troupes and performers from Poland, Germany, Pakistan, the whole of Eastern Europe and all over the U.S. This year brings a few new additions, including more performances in Santa Fe at the Armory for the Arts and, to add to the Dionysian celebration (thanks, Joe Peracchio, for the delicious descriptor), O'Neill's Irish Pub has become the official Revolutions base camp.

Join in the revolution and see some theater. Scout out the lineup below and call 724-4771 to reserve your tickets, which run from $8 to $15 depending on the show. After the performance, come by O'Neill's for an opportunity to meet and mingle with the international, national and local acts—cultural exchange, on and off stage, is really what Revolutions is all about.

These sly sisters kicked off Revolutions on Wednesday, Jan. 16, setting a quick pace for the three weeks of performance art to follow. Hailing from New York, The Wau Wau Sisters mix burlesque, Cirque du Soleil, guitar playing, cocktails and controlled disaster into an hour-long show of dirty songs and double entendres. Be ready for some level of audience participation.

Hot off a world tour, Tricklock Company's Black River Falling has grown and morphed into a different show than what debuted in Burque last May. Its still a journey into a beautiful world of misery inhabited by four sisters on the brink of starvation, but with original songs and few more places for the audience to enter the story (director Kevin R. Elder told me so).

Lauren Weedman returns to Revolutions (her show Rash and Wreckage was in the lineup in 2005) with her new show, Bust. Set in the Los Angeles County Jail, Weedman examines the story of incarcerated women with wit, humor and versatility.

Crime and Punishment is one of two shows in Revolutions by Teatr Figur of Krakow, Poland. Based on the stories by German psychiatrist Henrich Hoffman, Teatr Figur uses puppetry, masks and object theater to bring Hoffman's tales to life. Teatr Figur strives to produce high-quality theater for all ages, so don't be afraid to bring the wee ones.

There's no telling what will go on during the Reptilian Lounge. Local actors, musicians, poets, comedians and performance artists of all varieties show us what they've got at one of the three Lounges during Revolutions. The Reptilian Lounge always fills up and there are no ticket reservations, so get there early for a seat. You never know who will take the stage.

Excavations is Tricklock Company's way of using Revolutions as a testing ground for new works. Each Excavations performance featured a work in progress by company members and offers the audience an opportunity to help the artists shape the outcome of the work. In this installment, Tricklock's Kevin R. Elder, Alex Knight and guest artist Charles Gamble present the story of a young man and his violin as they travel through the trenches and foxholes of war in Catgut Strung Violin.

Courtney Cunningham is a clown. But not the funny ha-ha, take-the-kids-to-the-circus kind of clown. She's a neurotic clown, a clown with real issues, a clown with charm and great comic timing. Cunningham is Poofy du Vey, and she's funny as hell. (Note: This show is not recommended for children under 14. Yes, a clown show for 14-and-over only.)

Teatr Figur of Krakow, Poland, presents another kid-friendly production featuring puppetry, shadow theater, object manipulation and physical performance. The Smell of Elephants After the Rain follows traveler Marco Polo and leader Kublai Khan on a journey to understand their differences and similarities through music and performance art.

Another theater troupe, Teatre Nuevo México, represents New Mexico in Revolutions with a look at the classic Greek tragedy Electra through the eyes of Chicano playwright Luis Alfaro. Sophocles' ancient masterpiece is reworked to take place in a modern-day barrio in urban eastside Los Angeles and reveals the consequences of revenge on the entire community.

Kitka, a woman's vocal group rooted in Eastern European vocal traditions, uses folk songs and original music to tell the story of the Rusalki, spirits of women for Slavic folklore who died unjust, untimely or unnatural deaths. The Rusalka Cycle is sure to haunt audiences.

Four nights, four outrageous comedians. The Free Speech Comedy Art Series was started in 2006 to give progressive, thought-provoking comedians a stage at the Revolutions Festival. Included in this year's Free Speech series are Nile Seguin (Fear of a Brown Planet), John Fugelsang (Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher), Rick Shapiro (SNL, Conan O'Brien, HBO's Lucky Louie) and Comedy Jesus (Second City, Upright Citizens Brigade). Shows at the Golden West are 21+ only.

Tricklockian-for-life Chad Brummett stars in this lampoon (he penned) of the zombie horror film genre telling the story of what really happen in Roswell the night of July 24, 1957. See the show, then tell Chad what you thought of it during a talk-back after the show.

This is the second year Tricklock Company has hosted Revolutions as the professional theater company in residence at UNM. In that vein, Tricklock is hosting the first-ever staged reading of MFA student Patricia Crespin's play, Medea Complex—a modern look at the classic Greek tragedy about a women who murders her own children. Spicy!

The DO-Theatre company comes to Albuquerque from Germany and post-Communist Russia, bringing with it a unique brand of physical theater. Hangman explores the journey of the condemned—from crime or courtroom to dramatic conclusion—using dark humor, absurdism, clownish antics and dance.

Taylor Negron has some incredible stories to tell, including teenage experiences with Lucille Ball, something to do with Charles Manson and an invite to an orgy during Katrina. He'll tell them all in Satellites, along with who knows what else.

Kumail Nanjiani grew up in Pakistan knowing he'd come to college in the United States. But actually moving to the U.S. and being in college, well, that was a whole other thing. Nanjiani's been cracking up audiences all over Chicago and New York City with his show, Unpronounceable; now it’s the Duke City's turn.